Fertilizer

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT FERTILIZER - PAGE 5

Although IMC Global Inc.'s fertilizer dependably enriches the soil, it's been a good while since the Lake Forest-based company has done the same for its investors. IMC has recorded net losses for four years running, and the company on Thursday is expected to report another net loss for 2002. On an operating basis, however, IMC returned to the black in the year just ended. And now, with the long-suffering U.S. farm economy finally on the rebound, the company once known as International Minerals & Chemical Corp.

Ken Dalenberg's grandfather, like generations before him, farmed the rich soil of Illinois with a team of draft horses. This month his grandson is harvesting cornfields by satellite, in a John Deere combine equipped with two computers. They tell him his latitude and longitude in the field every three seconds, and the amount of corn that part of the field is producing. Next year, they'll remember where he needs more fertilizer, where he could cut back and even where weed seeds lie in wait, ready to sprout next spring.

You may not be able to see it, but a whole lot is happening in your yard in the fall. Roots are spreading underground. Organic materials such as leaves and compost are being turned into rich humus. Grass blades are drinking in the sun, turning its light into energy that will help the grass plants grow thick and strong. So now is not the time to be hanging up the gardening gloves. "Fall can be the most important time in your garden," said Lisa Graf of Graf Growers, a nursery in West Akron, Ohio.

Fertilizer producer CF Industries Holdings Inc. posted a 24 percent jump in quarterly profit on Monday as lower natural gas prices helped offset a drop in demand. For the second quarter, the company posted net earnings of $606.3 million, or $9.31 per share, up from $487.4 million, or $6.75 per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 4 percent, to $1.74 billion. Shares fell 1.2 percent to $201 in after-hours trading. As of Monday's close, the stock had gained 40 percent this year.

As green thumbs everywhere begin the annual task of tending to their lawns and gardens, they are being warned by two far north suburban communities to stay away from a nutrient common in fertilizer that harms lakes and waterways. The village of Third Lake recently followed Antioch's lead, making them the first two Illinois communities to ban fertilizers containing phosphorus. Local leaders acknowledge the effort is a small step in the global push to protect the environment, but they felt compelled to do what they could.

Q-I have a trailing African violet that blooms all the time but also gets a lot of yellow leaves. I try never to let the soil get too dry. Is a special fertilizer needed? A-According to Georgene Albrecht, a grower who specializes in trailing African violets, they need a fertilizer high in nitrogen to prevent premature leaf loss; in other words, the yellowing you describe. Besides temperatures between 60 and 80 degrees, humidity averaging 50 percent and soil kept evenly moist with water of room temperature, Albrecht recommends this fertilizing schedule: Fertilize large trailers with timed-release Osmocote 14-14-14 following the label directions for sensitive plants.

Give roses and perennials a final dose of fertilizer before Aug. 15, says Ralph Kintzele, assistant manager at Sid's Greenhouse in Bolingbrook. It will keep the plants growing for the rest of the season. Don't fertilize roses any later, he says, because that would stimulate growth that would not have time to harden off before winter's freezes blow in. There's no reason to worry about that with flowering annuals, since the cold weather will kill them anyway. So even if you added a slow-release fertilizer earlier in the year, you might want to supplement it with a balanced water-soluble formula according to package directions.

Deerfield-based chemical manufacturer CF Industries Holdings Inc. said Thursday that it has withdrawn its offer to acquire fertilizer company Terra Industries Inc. and it is no longer pursuing the deal. CF also said it sold all its Terra shares, with a net gain that more than offset the expenses it incurred in connection with its proposed acquisition. CEO Stephen Wilson said succeeding would now require a significant increase in the offer price because fertilizer company stocks have increased in value this year.

For Deerfield-based CF Industries Holdings Inc., which is pressing a $2.1 billion hostile buyout offer for fertilizer-industry rival Terra Industries Inc., the hunter has become the hunted. CF shares spiked upward by more than 11 percent Wednesday after a third fertilizer producer, Agrium Inc. of Canada, said it presented CF's board with an unsolicited $3.6 billion stock-and-cash buyout bid. The combination of CF and Agrium is "strategically compelling," Agrium said in unveiling its bid. "We expect to achieve significant operating synergies, well in excess of those contemplated in CF's proposal to acquire Terra Industries," Agrium Chief Executive Mike Wilson said in a statement.

Q-Last summer in Austria I couldn`t get over the incredible profusion of flowers on the ivy geraniums. Are the window-box varieties available in America? A-Today's balcony geraniums do go all to bloom, and chances are the ones you saw in Europe are also being sold at your local garden center. A major source is Fischer Geranium, with headquarters in Hillscheid, Germany and additional growing facilities in France, Spain, Mexico and Homestead, Fla. Noted for being exceptionally free-flowering, Fischer's Pelfi Cascades are improvements on what sometimes is known as the Swiss balcony geranium.